We have so much to celebrate

When my alarm clock would go off at six in the morning, I used to open my eyes and stretch out my hand to turn on the radio in time to listen to the six o ‘clock news.

US?swimmer Alison Schmitt, a Catholic, celebrates winning one if her three gold medals at the London Olympics. (Photo: Toby Melvilley, Reuters/CNS)

This was my morning wake-up routine for a long time until I realised that I was starting to anticipate the bad news that would come to me first thing in the morning. I then decided that I do not need this fix of bad news to represent the start of my day.

I also realised that all the news bulletins for the rest of the day, and the evening news, are mainly about bad news with snippets of good news, usually right at the end.

Sometimes it seems as though there are only bad things happening in the world and that there is nothing good to celebrate. That is surely what the media would have us believe, because they inundate us with messages that tell us what’s wrong with the world. But there is plenty to celebrate, there is much that is right with the world.

Our family, together with many others, recently celebrated the silver jubilee of my brother’s priestly ordination in our home parish. It was a real experience of celebrating something that is right; something that we are all proud of and which stands out as an example of generous service to others; our prayers and songs expressed our thanksgiving and our hearts were full of joy. A real celebration.

Many of us had the privilege of watching the recent Olympics in London on television. It was difficult not to feel a lump in one’s throat when watching the medal ceremony and feeling the joy of the winners. The bliss and elation on their faces spoke of success and achievement. Although we were thousands of miles away from the athletes, it was easy to get into the celebratory mood with them and to share in the joy of their success.

Yes, there are many things wrong with the world: the economic crisis, wars and conflicts between and within countries, natural disasters and all the other tragedies that happen to people each day. It is easy for us to think that we are living under a curse, and that there is nothing to be happy about, nothing to celebrate.

And although we do not celebrate silver jubilees or Olympic medals every day, there are many other things we can celebrate. And we should find ways to celebrate, because when we celebrate, we give thanks to God.

A common definition of celebrating is to observe a day or event with ceremonies of respect, festivity and rejoicing. The common days or events we celebrate are birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations and achievements.

It is good also to celebrate the not so common things, and in many communities people do this. For instance, when someone goes away on a long trip, or when someone comes back from a long trip, people would normally get together to say goodbye, asking God for a safe journey or welcome the person, thanking God for a journey free from harm.  When an operation was successful people come together to give thanks to God. When people move into a new house, family and friends come together to bless the house, normally with a celebration to give thanks to God.

When we think of our daily lives, we can celebrate almost anything. Because God is in the centre of our lives, in the centre of the world, there is always a reason to celebrate.  There is always a reason to sing hymns and psalms and inspired songs and to make music to the Lord with our hearts.

In this way we celebrate all the small things, all the things that are right with the world.

There is a wonderful DVD by Dewitt Jones, a National Geographic photographer, titled Celebrating What’s Right With The World. Dewitt uses pictures of people and nature all over the world to depict the face of God. It is beautiful to see how easy it is to celebrate almost everything.